The Tester Brothers website is a review blog put in place by myself and my brother Marc. We are located in New-Brunswick Canada. Here you will find reviews on product we had the chance of testing. It will range from gadgets to sports equipment.
If you have any questions or if you would like us to review your product(s) you can reach me at ben@testerbrothers.com . Have a great day and we hope to see you back soon for many in depth reviews!

Friday, July 19, 2013

The onesies to rule them all

Let me start by saying that I love reviewing all the products you see on this site, but this one, well this one was a treat. Today we take a look at onesies we received from Kigurumi.ca, a company created and based in Montreal since 2011. But before we begin, let's go over what kigurumi really is. Wikipedia tells us the following: "In English-speaking countries kigurumi are referred to as costumed characters, animal costumes, mascot costumes, or fursuits depending on the context. Fursuits are mascot-style costumes that represent animals and cartoon characters." Got it? Good! Let's begin.

Features

These onesies come in two main categories. We have the animal onesies and we have the character onesies. Most, but not all of them, come in one size fits all. I'm a pretty big guy (6 feet tall) and I am more than comfortable in them so that should in no way deter you from getting one. If you are really worried, some do come in medium (ideal for those who are 4'11" to 5'9" tall) and large sizes (ideal for those who are 5'10" and taller).

The onesies also made in three different fabrics. Fleece (ideal for cold winter nights), terrycloth and pile (both lighter and a bit more breathable). The official site also offers a wash and care guide. Later this fall Kigurumi will also offer onesies for kids.

Style and quality

Two words, top notch! I've worn my fair share of onesies and this one has by far the best quality I've had the chance to wear. From the buttons to the inseam, nothing feels "cheap". As you can see by the pictures I've posted above and below, the onesies are quite stylish. Upon posting pictures of myself on facebook, I quickly made quite a few jealous people. Last but not least, comfort. I swear to god, if wearing onesies was socialy acceptable, I would fill my wardrobe with Kigurumi onesies and wear nothing else. Soft and hanging very loosely, this outfit is great for things such as lounging around the house to eat marshmallows around a campfire.

The bottom line

The bottom line is we all need to be a little more silly in life to really enjoy ourselves and these onesies are a perfect way to start. As a middle school PE teacher, I cannot wait for the next PJ themed day at school! Now If you visit this site often you know that some products have felt our wrath during reviews, but I can't find a single thing I don't like about this one. For that reason, Kigurumi onesies make it into the "Top products" reviewed section of testerbrothers.com

Come back soon for the second part of the review which will be filmed so you can have a better look at all the great features of the Kigurumi onesies!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Not really going Coo-coo for the Cookoo watch

There has been a big buzz around smart watches lately,
and for that reason I decided to review the COOKOO
Bluetooth watch. The name says it all, it’s a watch that has the capacity to connect to
Bluetooth enabled devices (in my case an iPhone) and alert you in certain
situations. I've used it for about a week, while at work, and it felt like this
watch could have been so much more than it is. Being a watch and technology
fanatic I was looking forward to using it, but all it did was leave me
disappointed. Here’s why:

Features

First of all, the COOKOO watch has a lot of features,
just not the right ones. It has the ability to: show that you have a reminder, an alarm, a
text, an email, a phone call or that it’s time to charge your phone. What it
can’t do is show you what the reminder, the text or the email actually is. As a
person who works in an environment where I can’t always be near my phone, I
find it extremely frustrating knowing that I have received a text but can’t see
it.

Also, I should add that setting up your watch isn't
easy. Even though it has an app and a pamphlet to guide you while you set it up
and customize the buttons, it took a lot of time to understand how to make it
work. Once you get the hang of it and are able to customize each buttons, some
functions can be very useful. For example, the find your phone function
probably saved me a couple of minutes of looking for my phone. The “take a
picture function” made it easier for group photos and the music control is not
too bad.

Style
and performance

Like I said earlier I am a watch fanatic. That being
said, I would not buy the COOKOO watch based on its looks; it is too minimalist
for me. But tastes being something different for everyone, I won’t get into the
aesthetics. The materials they used to make the strap and watch both feel and
look durable. The strap is comfortable and very adjustable. For obvious,
reasons the watch is not waterproof.

As for performance, it had its connectivity issues.
Half of the time I spent using the watch it wasn't connected to my device. The
beautiful thing about smart watches is that when you lose connectivity with
your device, you can still use it as a watch. As for the battery life, it is
claimed to last up to a full year and also comes with a replacement battery.

The
bottom line

At 129$ USD, I would not recommend buying a COOKOO
smartwatch , at least not before they fix connectivity issues and add full text
display.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Dosh wallet doesn't do much, but it does it in style.

I had the chance of receiving two dosh wallets, the Cubic, a narrow wallet with a cube pattern and the Astro which has a smooth finish and is a bit wider. Both have similar features so I won't be doing two separate reviews. I need to start off by letting you know that this wallet is very simplistic. It doesn't aim to carry twenty cards and have a zipper for change. It is a wallet that is humble while remaining very elegant. It holds six cards and I know what you might be thinking; six cards?! I have way more than six cards in my wallet?! I thought the same thing when I received it but upon decluttering my old wallet I realized I didn't need all those cards. I mean, do you really need that gift card to McDonald's on you all the time? I now have my debit card, my two credit cards, my insurance cards, my Medicare and my Costco card. That's all I really need. The rest of my card are in my coat and I only take or bring them with me when i need them.

Features

Now as I said earlier this wallet is very simplistic but what it does, it does really well. It hold six cards tightly and when i say six, I mean six. No wiggle room to add extra cards but the upside to this is that you cards will never randomly fall out. It has a handcrafted stainless steel money clip that does its job very well. Like the card slot nothing will fall out of there. I preferred the Cubic model to the Astro model for that simple reason that is it slightly sleeker and less bulky. It is water resistant which is pretty cool. Any stain or residue that accumulates on the wallet can easily be cleaned off.

Style and performance

The rubber texture makes the wallet really stand out and make it unique. I've never been one to be gentle with my belonging and this wallet really holds up. It looks and feels extremely durable and I'm convinced it will hold up for a very long time. But brace yourself for a second. Although I absolutely love this wallet, there is a down side, its price. The Cubic model goes for AUD $94.95 (87.57 USD) and the Astro model goes for AUD $89.95 (82.96 USD) which to me is kind of ridiculous.

The bottom line

If holding many cards is not a must and you have the disposable income I strongly suggest this wallet. I will cost quite a bit but you will have the wallet for a very long time.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Turning simple into efficient

How many times have you ever struggled to put a new key on a key ring? For me the answer is simple: every single time. Now this item won't change the world but it might make yours a little bit better. I love the fact that they were able to take something simple and make it even simpler. Let's take a closer look...

Features

It's a key ting so the features are not very extensive but what it does, it does it well. By pressing on the FreeKey logo, you can lift the edge of the ring so you can easily insert or remove any key to or from you keyring. I personally tried it with many all my keys (House, car, etc.) and had no problems inserting them all. The free key system also has three smaller rings that can hold one or two keys. Those smaller rings make you bunch of keys way more malleable making what was ouce a spiky ball of keys... a slightly less spiky ball of keys.

Style and performance

It looks and feels good, smooth all around and has the FreeKey logo on it. It performs very well and does exactly what it claims to be able to do. I've had it over a month now and even though I chuck my keys here and there it has not bent or broken yet.

The bottom line

At 4.99 for the ring itself and 7.49 CAD for the full system, you can't really go wrong. As I stated before, it won't change the world, but it's one less thing to lose time on.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

As a soon to be dad, I was looking for a camera that would let me keep
an eye on my baby girl from anywhere in the house. Upon receiving
the Foscam FI8910W wireless camera, I soon realized I found that and much,
much more.

I have had some wireless cameras in the past but always found them to be
a pain to install and lacking in image quality so my expectations had been
lowered quite a bit. Although the installation of the FI8910W was not the
simplest task to accomplish, anyone with basic computer knowledge will be able
to set it up without problem.

Features

The list of features on this camera is quite extensive so I will stick
to the ones I used the most. First, there is the ability to not only view but
also remotely control the device from multiple devices simultaneously. This
means that both mom and dad can keep an eyes on the sleeping baby from anywhere
in the house. Typical I am downstairs on the computer and my wife is on her
iPad. The peace of mind this camera provides is priceless. Not only can we see
the baby but we can hear her thanks to the microphone the camera is equipped
with.

The camera also has auto IR-LED illumination for night vision. That
simply means that as soon as the camera detects that the amount of light in the
room is insufficient, it will switch to night mode automatically, another great
feature to see the baby late at night.

The camera can be viewed from many different browsers (I tried IE,
Firefox, chrome, safari and Opera and they all worked flawlessly) Also a motion
detection can be activated if you want to use the camera for security or simply
to know when the baby moves.

Style and quality

I have been testing the camera for over a month now and I still love it.
It feels and looks very sturdy. I dropped it once or twice and it survived.
Visually, I didn't find it intrusive at all and have no doubt that it will
easily be incorporated in my daughter's room thanks to the wall mount that came
with it.

Performance

I only encountered a small problem with the camera at first. The camera
would reset on its own to the default camera placement so I contacted the
company and it turns out I had forgotten to upgrade the firmware when I
initially installed the camera. Customer service answered my e-mail extremely
fast and walked me through the process step by step. Since then, the camera
works as intended. Another great thing about the camera is that when I remotely
change its position, it is whisper quite. I can’t even hear it if I try to so
there is no risk of waking up a sleeping baby or of someone even realizing they
are being watched (in a security related scenario). The image quality also
surpassed my expectation. With a resolution of 640x480, I can clearly see the
image and modify the brightness and contrast if need be (I have not had to do
so yet).

The bottom line

The Foscam FI8910W wireless camera met all my needs and then some.
And at 99$ the price is right. Many video monitors are way more
expensive than this one and do not offer half the features this one does. Not
to mention you can access is from anywhere in the house and by more that only
one person.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Solid performance, with one exception.

In the continuing quest for the perfect earphones (or earbuds), I stumbled across the Swedish-made a-Jays One+ almost one year ago. These uniquely-styled headphones boast a wide variety of features with a relatively modest price ($80 AUD).

Features

Jays claim the a-Jays One+ is compatible with most smartphones, and as of yet I haven’t come across a phone that doesn’t work happily with them. Their ‘tangle-free’ cable isn’t so much tangle-free as highly tangle-resistant. That being said, even when it does tangle (a rare occurrence), it only takes a moment to free up the headphones for use. Their gold-plated right-angle jack provides a solid but low profile connection, which is really a must with today’s growing smartphones.

With a single multi-function button and microphone, the headphones allow for numerous (and for Android, highly configurable) audio and call controls. By default the button uses single press for play/pause, double press for next song, and triple press for going back. In practice, I’ve found that the timing of the multiple presses can be somewhat unforgiving, with my music occasionally pausing when I’ve tried to skip.
With 5 different sizes of silicon sleeves, the headphones are sure to fit your ears snugly, providing that glorious blocking out of external sound that is lacking in standard headphones.

Style, Quality and Performance

The simple design of the headphones, with its black rubber coating and large flat cable, provide a subtle yet tasteful modern style. Even after one year of almost daily use, these headphones show little to no wear, with the multi-function button retaining a firm, solid action.

The sound quality of the headphones are rather good (with one exception) for the price point, providing a very smooth sound, with a very slight emphasis on bass. That exception I mentioned occurs whilst in motion. Whilst walking with any pair of headphones, you may notice that you can hear when the headphones move. This seems to be slightly more pronounced with the a-Jays One+, the effect being so pronounced as to be heard on the other end of a call. I suspect this is due to the larger, heavier cable.

The Bottom Line

The a-Jays One+ provides a solid sound performance and quality design for a reasonable price. However, if you’re someone who’s likely to be irritated by louder than usual noise artefacts whilst in motion, then these headphones won’t be for you.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Worth the hype?

The beats by Dre
headphones caught my attention as soon as they came out; I tough they looked
cool. Their marketing sure did a great job promoting them in various music
videos and public appearances by famous athletes and artists. But good
marketing doesn’t necessarily mean good product right? I decided to test them
out myself to see if they were really worth it.

Price

200$ CAD

Features

The Solo HD are very
aesthetically pleasing (let’s face it, they look good). They offer a simple
foldable design which allows you to bring them with you virtually anywhere.
They are equipped with ControlTalk technology that allows you to answer calls
and have conversations while they are plugged to a cellular device.

The box specifies that
the Beats Solo HD are made for Iphones, Ipods and Ipads, which in a sense is
true. When I tried it, my iPhones did not instantly recognize the ControlTalk.
After searching true forums regarding the issue, I finally found the problem:
the cable that came with my headphones was defective. Luckily the headphones
came with two cables, so I simply used the other one. Also the L shape audio
jack makes it difficult to use with phone cases; but. A straight 3.5mm audio
jack can be bought separately.

Style, Quality and performance

As I said earlier,
they appeal to so many because they look stylish. They are slightly different
in style from the regular beats Solo as the HDs have a glossy exterior instead
of matte. They also made the HD sturdier because a lot of costumers were
complaining about broken Solos. As for sturdiness, I have had no problems with
these head headphones. They survived multiples falls from head height and many
stretching due to accidents.

On the other side, the
detachable ear cushions can be a problem. They come off rather easily and can
be a pain to reattach. As for comfort, I found that it’s best not to use them
for a long period of time because after an hour of listening to anything with
them, my ears started to hurt.

In no way shape or
form do I consider myself a true headphones connoisseur, but as a regular
consumer, I felt let down by the sound quality. In my opinion, the only
difference with other headphones is the bass-boosting, which a lot of people
confuse for sounds quality. Also, there is no noise-cancelling and music can
easily be heard by people around.

The Bottom Line

All in all, I would
define the Beats Solo HD as an overpriced fashion accessory. They look good,
but that’s pretty much all they have going for them. They cost twice as much as
a decent quality pair of Sennheiser for an overall painful and unpleasant
experience.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Many features.. you don't really need

I am a big call of duty fan, other than the occasional Mortal Kombat match that`s all I play. So when I came across and controller that would give me a small edge in the game I got it right away. Turns out it wasn't that simple.

Features

There are many features so let's jump right in...

ILLUMINATION : Ok, so the buttons are lit up, but if you are a seasoned gaming you know exactly where and what the buttons are so that was not a major selling point for me. But ya always give it to your cousin Daniel who has no sweet clue how to play, it might help him out a bit when you are telling him what button does what.

DISPLAY : A LED screen allows players to visually adjust shots per seconds in real time. Now this is a bit more useful. Every gun, in most games, has a maximum fire rate. This screen allows you to switch and test the fire rates on the go. It`s not super simple, but it is at least possible.

RAPID FIRE : This is the main reason I purchased this controller. I wanted to be able to use my COD points on other things than getting my weapon fully automatic. It is the one aspect of the controller that works extremely well, but only when you can find the exact fire rate that suits the weapon in question and that is a task you have to start over every time you change guns. There are 10 memory locations to save your favorite weapon which helps a little bit.The rapid fire button allows you to quickly toggle rapid fire on and off.

SHOT PER SEC : Unlike other rapid fire controllers the MINDFORCE PS3 allows for customized fire rates of up to 99.9 shots per second. 999 different fire rates seems a bit over the top, but I does give you the ability to find the exact fire rate you need.

BARRAGE : This unleash your full arsenal. This button is placed on the underbelly of the controller which makes it awkward to press at time and, to be honest, the only time I used it was by accident. To me this feature is useless because it is like panicking on demand, not accurate and a waste of ammo. It is also only compatible with the call of duty series (excluding MW3)

QUICK SCOPE : The QUICK SCOPE feature instantly zooms in and takes the shot in one fluent motion. A good attribute if you like quickscoping, but I didn't find it very accurate. To be fair, I didn't spend much time using this feature. Also only compatible with the Call of Duty series.

DROP SHOT : With the press of the Modify button and the D-pad based Drop Shot, you drop to the ground and engage rapid fire, but by the time you react and press both buttons you've been shot multiple times. Again, only compatible with the Call of Duty series.

STEADY SCOPEWith steady scope activated the moment you zoom in your aim becomes steady. Good feature, but I tend to turn it off because I look for long amount of times down sight. Again, only compatible with the Call of Duty series.

REMAPThere are nine usable layouts on the Call of Duty Series and with the REMAP feature all the controller's features can be usable no matter what the setting. Again, only compatible with the Call of Duty series. ( I feel like I'm repeating myself )

Performance

And this is where it all falls apart. The concept is great, a controller with many features you regularly use while playing the game. The only problem is that it is very counter intuitive. It might be because I've played first person shooters with the original controller all those years but it just doesn't feel 'right'. But this controllers downfall is its lack in precision. The two control sticks are just not as accurate as I wish they would be and because of that, the gameplay suffers.

The Bottom line

The bottom line is you have to make a choice. Do you want to sacrifice accuracy for features or not? If so, then this controller is for you. If not, I would save my money.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Stuck Between a Pebble and a Hard place

Notice: I used the watch with an iPhone 5

When I backed the Pebble project about a year ago on Kickstarter, I never expected the watch to take this long to finalize and ship to the backers. Nonetheless, I waited patiently for it to arrive to my doorstep and finally, my prayers were answered a few weeks ago. Having used it for about 3 weeks now, here is my review of this new and innovative product.

Features

To be honest, to the average person the features are pretty limited for now. You can receive texts, emails and phone calls to your watch and control your phone's music if you feel like it. Now those features (although limited) are pretty impressive. Being a physical education teacher, I move a lot with the kids and don't wait to carry my phone with me all day, so now I can leave it in my office and if someone sends me a message, a small vibration on my wrist will alert me and I can go on teaching.

Our school gym also has a Bluetooth enabled boombox that is also linked to my phone so while teaching I can control the music from anywhere in the gym. Those two features where enough for me to want the pebble and I am glad I got it.

Now being the geek that I am, my phone is also jailbroken which allows me to receive other notifications to my watch (facebook, twitter, etc.) Also, as of last week, a primary watch face sdk was released which allows third parties to also create watch faces for pebble.

Pebble promises many upgrades to come such as high efficiency Bluetooth, runkeeper integration and an all out App sdk but we do not have a precise time frame for those features.

Style and Quality

Pebble has managed to make somewhat of a stylish watch. The watch band can be replaced by practically any other one that might fit your style. The all plastic and rubber combo does however make it look and feel a little cheap. The watch does not feel particularly sturdy, all four buttons feel a bit flimsy and wiggle a bit if not pressed fully. Its screen has been reported as being very scratchable but mine is still intact (note that I have applied a skinomi screen protector on mine).

Performance

The watch works great... most of the time. Now I don`t know if the following is typical to all watches but here are some problems I've had with mine. First off, the charger cable. It is a usb cable that magnetically attaches to the watch to charge it. The problem is that it is very sensitive to movement and I always have to jiggle it for at least ten seconds for the watch to register it's attachment it start charging, As far as longevity of the charge, it varies. The official website states that it should last a week but I've gotten a low battery indicator after using it moderately for less than 2 days.

The watch faces are easy to install. Simply find the one you want on a website and tap on it. Then, chose open with the pebble app and voila! You now have a new watch face. Sadly, many are very buggy and cause my watch to crash and restart multiple times. Some also drain the battery extremely fast.

The Bottom Line

It's the best of its kind but mostly because it's the only of its kind. Pebble is paving the way for other companies to improve on the concept. In other words my pebble is pretty much a placeholder for my iWatch. I love my pebble but it is lacking in many departments. I wish it was sturdier and more stable, but primarily, I wish it had more features. The pebble is a great product that has yet to reach its full potential and I doubt it will in time to compete with the multitude of watches that are about to flood the market.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The texture of a Rhino without the weight

Being a gym teacher, I have seen equipment come and go but I think these dodge-balls are here to stay. Before acquiring those balls my students used pink rubber balls to play dodge ball They were easy to throw but getting hit by them was painful (especially for the younger kids). Now even my kindergartners can get hit without fear of getting hurt.

Features

These balls are soft enough to to hit a child without fearing injury, yet dense enough to be thrown across the gym. Filled with foam and air, they can be squashed to a pancake and take back their forms without a few seconds. The texture of the calls makes it easy for even the tiniest hands to grab firmly.

They come in six different colors including yellow, red, green, blue, purple and orange (a black version of the ball can be ordered on it's own). I have about 30 6 1/4 inch ones and 6 of the super special series that are about twice the size of the dodge-balls. Other than the weight and size the balls are pretty much the same (See picture bellow).

Performance

I use the balls mainly for dodge ball but also when practicing manipulation with the kids (one of the 8 main themes evaluated for phys. ed in my province) that way they can all have material without me fearing them getting hurt.

Even tho I use and enjoy them, they are not perfect. After having the smaller balls for over a year now, some of the ones we use regularly are starting to loose some firmness. It is like the foam inside some of the balls has shrunken slightly while the outer skin has not. Nothing major as only a select few balls are affected but still a minor incontinence. A few balls have also been pierced but that doesn't seem to affect the usability of the balls (as long as the students don't start picking at them that is).

The Price Tag

Reasonably priced, the dodge balls go for about 9.99$ a ball or 64.99$ for a set of 6 colors and I believe I paid 126.99 for a set of 6 of the bigger ones. Not to bad considering I will be using them for quite a few years and on a weekly basis.

The Bottom Line

Those pieces of equipment are essential to my teaching and I haven't found any other balls that could come close to the quality of these ones. If you are a teacher and have the budget, I strongly suggest you look into acquiring then. If you are parent, get a few and your kids will thank you for it.

Monday, April 22, 2013

A little box with a lot of boom

The school where I work recently gave me the task to find a new sound system for the gym. I was looking for something small and durable but also something powerful that would fit my needs for when I teach to the kids and for extracurricular activities.

Features

This sound system is fairly simple. It has an iPod dock for any apple device with a 16 pin connector (not iPhone 5 compatible yet) and an audio input at the back. You can also connect wireless devices via Bluetooth.

In terms of looks it look very sleek. The one I got is all black with a red beats by Dre logo on the front (There is also a white and grey version available). Both side of the device are equipped with handles for easy portability. The system can be plugged to a power outlet or, if you want to use it on the go, you will need six D-cell batteries (Seems like a little much doesn't it?) that can be place in a latch under the boombox.

Performance

Like most products made by the company, this one delivers a good sound quality. I can easily project sounds through the whole gym without any problems. The sounds does become a little distorted at a higher volume but nothing really major. The reach of the system when connected to Bluetooth is far better than I ever could of expected. I can leave my phone in my office (which is at the other end of the gym) and still get a

great connection. The remote control that came with the device on the other can not reach that far.

The beats by Dre Beatbox is also very sturdy. It received quite a few hits in the last month and there is no sign of malfunctions yet.

The Price Tag

The price tag is a little high (399.99 on sale when i got it) but the quality is there so it is worth it. Can you get something similar for a lower price? Probably, the features are basic and pretty much standard on every recent model.

The Bottom Line

Powerful, durable and great looking, this product is reliable and a great acquisition for any music lover as long as you don't mind a small jab to the wallet.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Welcome everyone to the Tester Brothers website, a review blog put in place by myself and my brother Marc. We are located in New-Brunswick Canada. Here you will find reviews on product we had the chance of testing. It will range from gadgets to sports equipment.

I will soon become a father so you can expect baby products reviews on here as well! I am a PE teacher and my brother is studying to become one so the health aspect of products reviews on this page will be explored in depth.

You might be asking yourself what categories of products we will be reviewing here. To be honest, all of them. If we use it we review it but we will primarily review gadgets (as we are self proclaimed geeks), sports equipment (as we both work in the health a sports field) and baby and kids items (as I am going to be a father in October and my brother an uncle... and it does hurt that we are both kids at heart)

If you have any questions or if you would like us to review your product(s) you can reach me at ben@testerbrothers.com . Have a great day and we hope to see you back soon for many in depth reviews!

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About Us

The Tester Brothers website is a review blog put in place by myself and my brother Marc. We are located in New-Brunswick Canada. Here you will find reviews on product that have been sent to us and that we had the chance of testing. It will range all the way from gadgets to toys to sports equipment.
All opinions are our own.
If you have any questions or if you would like us to review your product(s) you can reach us at ben@testerbrothers.com . Have a great day and we hope to see you back soon!